Statement from Speaker Carl Heastie on Budget Negotiations

After months of hard work to craft a spending plan for New Yorkers, the State Budget is being held up by an unrelated non-budgetary demand in the State Senate.

To be clear, we have worked with the Senate and the Governor and have agreement on 99.9 percent of the budget.

The remaining issue, an education policy with no fiscal impact, concerns regulations for certain non-public schools. This issue is important. It should be worked on in partnership with stakeholders and educational experts at the State Education Department, which we would fully support. The Assembly Majority cares deeply about New York's schoolchildren. This should be dealt with in a careful and well-thought out manner.